


Honour and Warrants

by shopfront



Category: Killjoys (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bickering, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s01e06 One Blood, F/F, Flirting, Minor Character Death, Mission Fic, Team, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-17 18:38:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12371676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/pseuds/shopfront
Summary: Dutch has no intention of taking another warrant from the Nine so soon after their little jaunt into the Badlands. But this time it's Illenore Seyah Simms calling, not Delle Seyah. Not to mention a friend's life might be on the line....(Pawter was never exiled AU)





	Honour and Warrants

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dirty_diana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirty_diana/gifts).



> Thanks to G for the beta!
> 
> The violence warning covers episode/canon style violence and a repeat of the firefight and show down at the farm. Minor character deaths as occur on Leith as in canon, but there is no major character death.

“You rang? It’s a little late, but I was in the area so I thought I’d drop by anyway,” Dutch called out in a lilting sing-song as she walked into the shop. But she spotted the fancy tea tray in Bellus’ hands the moment she entered and her smile quickly morphed into a scowl. “Oh hells no, not again. No way, no how. I don’t care what the warrant is, I’m not taking anymore jobs for that bitch.”

“Now, Dutch-“ Bellus started to say, voice low, but another voice cut her short.

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Hardy.” The voice came from behind the screen only seconds before it was smoothly pushed back to reveal a slender woman whose long red hair was elaborately twisted up upon her head to make her appear even taller than she already was. She paused a moment while dramatically framed by the open screen and surveyed Dutch from head to foot before she continued. “You did warn me about her history with Land Kendry, and Delle Seyah does rather have that effect on people.”

Dutch frowned at Bellus, and then at the stranger.

“Dutch, may I introduce the Lady of the Land, Daughter of the Nine, Protector of the Soil and Sea, Illenore Seyah Simms,” said Bellus, practically biting out each word of the title while Dutch turned her frown into a grudging bow of her head.

“You honour us with your presence,” she said, voice flat.

Illenore Seyah Simms just laughed, her voice as light and polished as the rest of her appearance. “Please call me Pawter, and don’t be silly,” she said with a wave of her hand as Dutch quirked an eyebrow. “I know you don’t consider this an honour any more than I would be honoured by Delle Seyah’s presence, and there’s no need to pretend otherwise. But please, take a seat anyway. We have much to discuss. Regardless of your opinion of the Nine.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Dutch said, lips pursed as she watched Bellus put down her tray and then back out of the little alcove before ushering Dutch inside. Bellus then replaced the screen with a shrug and a smirk, leaving the two of them alone as Pawter settled elegantly into a seat. “But just because you’re not Delle Seyah doesn’t mean I’m interested in working for you, either.”

“You might change your mind once you see the warrant,” was all that Pawter said, not even looking up as she carefully poured the tea into two cups and pushed one across the table.

Dutch watched her stir and spoon sugar in silence for a moment, and then huffed and dropped herself into the opposite seat with a light thump. “Oh, alright,” she said. “I'll play. What's the warrant?”

Pawter just extended one hand towards a large portable PDD pad set beside the tea tray, and keyed in a code. The warrant flickered to life with a ding on Dutch’s pocket PDD just as she pulled it out of her jacket.

“What the-" she started to say as she skimmed down the details on the screen. 

“Before you get all worked up,” Pawter interrupted, finally looking up from her drink. Her gaze was steely and she didn’t flinch when Dutch leaned in sharply toward her before aborting the movement, all barely contained tension and clenched fists. “I am aware that you consider him a close friend. That’s why I’ve come to you.”

Dutch opened her mouth, furious, but Pawter just calmly held up a hand and kept talking. Her voice was steady but her words were rapid, the only flicker in her calm mask.

“It’s only a level three. I just want you to fetch him for me. If you don’t, I promise it won’t end well for anyone.”

“Are you really threatening a friend of mine to my face?” Dutch asked incredulously. “Don’t you dare even think about hurting him.”

“I have no intention of doing that. What I am going to do, however, is promise you that eventually someone else will be on the hunt for him as well and that their terms won't be nearly so considerate. Assuming you don’t help me get to him first, of course.”

Dutch made a disgusted noise, and stood up, kicking her chair away from behind her to pace the full three steps worth of free space available. Pawter just calmly sipped her tea and watched her walk back and forth.

“You’re going to have to give me more to go on than that,” Dutch said finally, coming to a halt.

Pawter sighed, and put down her tea in favour of picking up her PDD. “Here,” she said, offering it to Dutch. “This contains all the relevant information that I have on Joseph Cyano. The most pertinent thing I know is that your friend has been painting a target on his back for some time now by stealing from the Company. It was only a matter of time before someone caught on, and now luckily it's me who has.”

“This can’t be right,” Dutch muttered, scrolling down the screen.

“Oh, but it is,” Pawter said. “You’ll find surveillance footage from his last three jobs on there as well. He has been a very busy boy. It wasn’t easy to come by, I assure you, but I thought you might need some convincing. You're welcome to take the device and run as many verification checks on the data as you like. It's all genuine.”

“Say that it is. What I don’t get,” Dutch said slowly, eyes still fixed on the screen and her voice raised just enough to overcome the tinny sounds emitted as one of the surveillance videos played, “is what you have to gain from bringing him in. This is a personal warrant you’ve issued. He stole from the Company, not from you, and yet this warrant has nothing directly to do with the Company.”

Her gaze flicked back up as she spoke and they stared at each other over the large PDD for a moment, as Dutch’s face was lit by the shifting colours of the video.

“I’m a Nine, so you might say that I _am_ the Company,” Pawter started to say, then bit her lip and stopped at the look on Dutch’s face. After a moment she tried again, this time more cautiously. “I’ve been… looking for something. It led me to someone who’s caught on to your friend’s little hobby, and I just found out that the same someone has fed him information for an upcoming job out of Old Town. You have no reason to trust me, except for the fact that this new job? It’s going to make that target on his back so big that you'll be able to see it clear across the J.”

“So, what, you want to pump him for information about this mysterious someone before anyone else gets to him? That doesn’t exactly convince me to trust you. I’ve had it up to here already with the Nine playing me for their own purposes,” Dutch said, dropping the PDD and bracing her hands against the table to lean threateningly over Pawter. “Why should I think you’re any different?” 

“I doubt there’s anything I can say to convince you of that,” Pawter said, standing and brushing down her elaborate skirts for imaginary dust. “I’m not going to force your hand either, even though I could. In the next few days your friend will have completed that job and then there’ll be very little left that I can do for him. Someone will probably have put out a black warrant on him by then, or a level five, or worse."

Dutch made a frustrated noise and unfolded herself just in time for Pawter to step around the small table and come toe to toe with her.

"I might be just as much of a bitch as Delle Seyah can be, but don’t fool yourself that turning me down will help him,” she continued, leaning in close. “Take my warrant, or don’t. It’s up to you. But don’t wait too long.”

Then Pawter slid back the screen before Dutch could reply, and walked past a studiously blank-faced Bellus. “You know where to find me when she makes her decision,” she said as she passed, before sailing out into the evening crowd of the bazaar. 

Dutch just gaped after her, noting the bodyguards that appeared silently to flank her, and then turned to Bellus with an incredulous expression. “You seriously couldn’t have warned me? Again?”

*

“Please tell me they’re fake,” Dutch said, hovering over Johnny’s shoulder as he worked. “Johnny? Are they?”

“Woah, hey, relax a second,” he said, staring intently at the screen in front of him and then rubbing at his eyes. “Just give it another minute to finish processing.”

Dutch tapped her foot on the floor rapidly, arms crossed, and glared at the back of Johnny’s head. “You’ve already had hours and hours of minutes,” she finally snapped, throwing her hands in the air. “Well?”

Johnny sat back in his seat with a sigh. “As far as I can tell, it’s all legit. The only thing that doesn’t makes sense is the timeline on this next job. From what I can see it should already be happening, not going down two days from now. Lucy?”

“I agree, John, and I do not detect any irregularities in the recordings,” Lucy said. “While you were working I also intercepted communications that may assist us in locating the target. Would you like to see them?”

Dutch made a frustrated noise and hit the nearest wall with the side of her fist.

“So I take it we’re accepting the warrant?” Johnny asked slowly, swivelling in his seat to furrow his brow at her.

“Yeah,” Dutch said, hitting the wall once more and then heading for the front of the ship. “Of course we’re accepting the damn warrant.”

“Cool,” Johnny muttered to himself. “Just gonna go track down one of the most skilled Killjoys we know on very little sleep and quite possibly with half the Company in pursuit. Should be fun. Piece of cake. Yeah, Lucy, show me those communications.”

“John, it has taken us seven hours and forty seven minutes to fully verify this data, and neither you nor Dutch has slept during that time. I believe that under the circumstances successfully locating and capturing Joseph Cyano may prove difficult.”

Another low thump echoed from the direction of the cockpit. Johnny sighed. “Thanks, Lucy, that’s real helpful. Could you at least wake D’avin up for me while we gear up?”

“You are welcome, John. I am waking D’avin now.”

*

“I’m going in alone,” said Dutch the moment Lucy verified that there was nobody in their immediate vicinity. “We’ve already wasted too much time chasing him down. Our best bet is for me to talk him around, and quickly.”

“I seriously don’t know why you even bothered waking me up in the middle of the night for this,” D’avin grumbled, but Dutch just fondly told him to shut up and accepted a comm from a wryly amused Johnny.

“Say hello for me,” was all Johnny said. Dutch just huffed at him, and then set off at a jog. 

It wasn’t all he said when the shot rang out, though.

“Shit.” Dutch heard crackling over the comm as her hearing phased in and out for a moment from the shock. “Shit, shit, shit. Dutch? Dutch can you hear me? Are you hit? D’avin, she’s due east from here, no, slow down long enough to take a comm as well. Dammit. Dutch?”

“I’m here,” Dutch groaned, gasping for breath. “Stay on the damn ship like I told you, D’avin. I’m fine. Big Joe must have already finished that job before we found him. It was just a warning shot. He’s trying to slow me down, that’s all.”

“Slow you down?” Johnny asked, the volume of his voice ratcheting up even higher. Dutch grimaced. “Are. You. Hit?”

“It’s nothing,” she said, but another groan slipped from her lips despite herself as she put pressure on the wound. “I’m fine. Both of you stay on the goddamn ship.”

But, predictably, D’avin didn't stay on the goddamn ship.

“You should have at least slept while Johnny did his thing,” he said while he helped her patch herself up before continuing to grumble at her when she complained. “Clearly working alone while exhausted wasn’t the smartest move you've ever made."

She didn’t bother to pretend she wasn’t grateful to have someone to help her to her feet once they were done. But her gratitude faded fast when the first thing D’avin did once they got Big Joe in sight was holster his usual weapon and pull out a tranq gun and shoot.

“What the hell?” Dutch cried, her own gun wavering and then re-focusing on D’avin.

“Woah,” he said, eyes widening as he let the tranq gun drop to dangle harmlessly from his thumb before holding his hands up in surrender. “The guy just shot you! I didn’t think we wanted to risk him getting away, or getting another round off.”

“I told you I needed to talk to him!” she answered back just as sharply, but let her weapon drop as well and rubbed at her forehead. 

“Dutch,” Johnny said in a warning tone in their ears. “You need to hurry it up out there, according to Lucy we have inbound and they’re closing fast.”

“What? Dammit,” Dutch snarled. “Dammit to all hells, and damn _you_ , D’avin Jaqobis. Hurry up and help me get him back to the ship.”

“Once he’s on Lucy-“ Johnny started to say, but Dutch made a wordlessly angry noise in response and he audibly cut himself short.

“I’m aware, Johnny,” she said, grunting with both effort and pain as she helped D’avin hoist Joe up. D’avin shot her a curious look around Joe’s head, and Dutch sighed. “Lucy’s automatic recording devices mean we can’t avoid taking him to Pawter now,” she said, gritting the words out between pants as they started to backtrack through the woods with Joe’s deadweight in tow. "It might only be a lower level warrant, but as one of the Nine Pawter will almost certainly demand evidence to back up any claim that we lost him. Evidence like complete and unaltered ship logs.”

His expression morphed from confusion to regret. “Shit, Dutch-“

“Not another word,” she said, glaring severely when he opened his mouth again anyway before wisely falling silent.

*

Big Joe came around back on Westerley only shortly before Pawter was due to arrive.

“If you’re quite done,” Dutch said when he startled awake and immediately started to pull hard on his restraints. “You have approximately three minutes before we have company, and I’m a bit cranky about the hole in my shoulder. So if there's anything you have to say that could convince me not to hand you over and fulfill my warrant then I need to know it right bloody now.”

“You can’t hand me over to Delle Seyah Kendry, Dutch,” he said. Then he started to say more, but Dutch held up a hand for silence and frowned harder.

“Delle Seyah?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and staring at him. “What has she… No, never mind, it's not important. That’s not who I’m working for, and I can’t believe you think I’d take a warrant to hand over anyone - let alone you - to her tender mercies. Just what have you got yourself mixed up in here?”

“It’s probably best you don’t answer that,” a voice interrupted smoothly from behind them.

Dutch whirled, and then barked out a question to Lucy, “How the hell did she get on board?”

“The security logs do not-“

“I’m a Nine,” said Pawter with a huff and a roll of her eyes. “I have the means to access all sorts of places you can’t even imagine without anyone noticing. Not even the resident A.I.”

“Not on my ship, you don’t!” Dutch replied sharply, widening her stance and placing herself deliberately between Big Joe and Pawter.

“Relax,” Pawter drawled. “I’m not here to hurt him. Am I, Joseph? I heard he got his job done, so I just want a little trinket from his collection and then I’ll mark the warrant fulfilled and leave you both be.”

“Funny,” Dutch said, frowning. “But I don’t work for you and I also don’t recall the warrant being for salvage, so-“

“It’s alright, Dutchie,” Big Joe said from behind her, making her turn and glare at him instead.

“Someone is going to tell me what the hell is going on here before I hurt both of you,” Dutch said, just as D’avin and Johnny turned the corner into the room at high speed.

Pawter immediately turned to the boys and held up her hands while batting her eyelashes. “Alright then,” she said with a smirk as she eyed their raised weapons. “I guess you got me.”

“I don’t have it,” Joe said, his gaze fixed back on Pawter as he ignored D’avin and Johnny completely. Dutch, D’avin, and Johnny all turned toward him while talking over each other, but Pawter immediately dropped her hands and shoved past the three of them with little heed for their weapons.

“What do you mean, you don’t have it?” she asked, then grabbed Big Joe roughly by the shoulders and shook him. D’avin immediately grabbed her and tried to haul her back, but she just tugged her arm out of his grip without taking her eyes off Joe. “Where is it? Tell me where it is, now!”

“I hid it on Leith while I did another job,” Joe said hurriedly. 

“Hid what exactly?” D’avin asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Don’t-“ Pawter started to say, but Big Joe was answering D’avin before she could stop him.

“I don’t know what it's meant to be, but it was the only thing on a ship practically teeming with security. Whatever it is, the Company wants it bad.”

“It’s really on Leith?” Pawter asked quietly, staring blankly at Joe as he nodded. She turned towards Dutch. “We _have_ to go get it. It’s a blacklist weapon. It has to be safely retrieved.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Johnny said, rapidly shaking his head. “We are not getting involved in anything blacklist. Right, Dutch?”

“Blacklist?” D’avin asked, but nobody even glanced at him.

“We have to,” Pawter repeated urgently, finally tugging free of D’avin and reaching for Dutch’s arm in turn.

“We don’t have to do anything _,_ ” Dutch said, dodging Pawter. “I told you, your warrant isn’t for salvage. You don’t get to just change the terms like that.”

“If we leave it on Leith, there’s no way of knowing who might find it,” Pawter insisted, eyes wide. “You don’t know what that thing can do. It’s far, far too dangerous to leave behind.”

“You know what it is,” Dutch said slowly.

“Who cares what it is? It’s not our problem! There is absolutely no good reason for us to make something blacklist our problem!” Johnny cried behind Pawter, throwing his hands up and turning away in disgust. “No offence, Joe,” he muttered absently.

“Plenty taken," Joe said, but he was smiling.

D’avin just clenched his jaw and then spoke loudly and very slowly, “ _what does blacklist mean?_ ” 

“What do you want?” Pawter asked, voice cracking. “I could threaten you with all of my power as the head of a Nine family, but I’m not. I’m begging you. Just tell me what you want to get this done.”

“I want Big Joe’s name cleared of all of this. Everything he’s done that was on your list, every job, anything he can tell you that you didn’t already know about. I want it all gone.”

“Dutch,” Joe started to say. “You can’t get involved with this just to help me.”

“Like hell I can’t,” Dutch snapped. “Besides, we're already involved! Well? You told me all hell would break loose if we didn’t reach him before he stole this thing, but I don't think you had any intention of letting us stop him. All so that you could get your hands on this thing,” she said, pushing into Pawter’s space until they were almost nose to nose. “So you better hope you have another way of getting him out of this mess, because otherwise you're on your own.”

Pawter licked her lips. “Okay,” she breathed. “I can pull the same strings I used to get the footage to have it all erased. No evidence, no warrant, no running. That’ll keep him free and clear. But I’m coming with you to retrieve that device.”

Dutch clenched her jaw and breathed in deep through her nose. “Fine,” she said, still staring Pawter down. “You want to come along, then by all means. But you're staying on this ship until Big Joe’s cleared.”

“I’ll consider it,” Pawter said, stepping away and shaking her hair back from her face. Like a curtain being drawn over, the panicked woman begging for help disappeared and in her place was poised Qreshi royalty once more. “But we need to head back to Leith right now or the deal is off.”

"Fine," Dutch said again.

"Fine," Pawter echoed, a small ghost of a smile starting to curl up the corners of her lips.

*

It took them some time to hammer out the details between them, and once they were finished it was almost time to land.

“Everything alright back there now?” Johnny asked cautiously when Dutch finally wandered into the cockpit. Beside him D’avin widened his eyes meaningfully and made many tiny, frantic shakes of his head at Johnny that she pointedly ignored.

“Peachy,” Dutch said, glaring out the viewscreen and not looking either of them in the eyes.

“Is she…?“

“She’s coming with us.”

“Like, 'off the ship on the mission' coming with us or 'sticking with Lucy' coming with us?” Johnny asked. Dutch just grunted. “Right. Um. Well, it’ll be about another fifteen minutes or so-”

“Fine,” Dutch said, gritting her teeth. Pawter had already rather thoroughly worked her last nerve by insisting on joining them, Dutch really didn't need concerned looks and careful questions to rub salt in that particular wound. “I suppose I’ll just go get ready then.”

She turned to stomp away again and in the process caught D'avin silently mouthing ‘get ready?’ at Johnny.

"Really?" she asked him flatly.

“It's just that you're already geared up,” he called after her sheepishly. Dutch just made a derisive noise and kept walking.

*

“I’m telling you this is a mistake,” Joe said as they all disembarked from Lucy.

“I don’t like it anymore than you do,” Dutch said, tugging him to the back of the group and lowering her voice. “But she’s the best chance you’ve got. Maybe your only chance.”

“You don’t know these people like I do, Dutch. They’re True Leithians. Once they realise who she is, they’re just as likely to shoot us all on sight over the Accords as they are to accept any deal she might offer them.”

“There’s nothing to be done about it now,” she said. Joe continued to argue, but Dutch just shushed him and ran her fingers restlessly over the stitching of her holster. Hopefully, he was wrong and Pawter was right.

Hopefully.

*

They stumbled across a patrolling farmer long before they reached the homestead itself. It was just the first thing to go wrong. The man had a machete at Pawter’s throat before anyone heard him coming, and everybody except Dutch froze.

“I’d heard you were good,” Pawter said admiringly afterward, her gaze picking Dutch apart like she was a particularly fancy party favour. It reminded Dutch of Delle Seyah and not necessarily in a good way, but it also made her leer a little in return. Flirting, at least, was something she was comfortable with. “But that was impressive. It would have been more impressive if you’d not failed to hear him coming because you were bickering with your friend, of course.”

“Yeah, yeah. We took care of it, didn’t we?” Johnny griped, taking up the lead and then turning away for a moment to ask Lucy if her sensors could reach them and sweep for any additional patrols that might be out.

“It’s alright, Johnny,” Dutch said, laying a hand on his arm until he stopped bristling. “I think Pawter is just saying she wants my full attention. Isn’t that right, Seyah Simms?” 

Pawter just smirked back and didn’t reply. But Dutch caught a few searching sideway glances when she glued herself to Pawter’s side for the next length of their hike. Dutch took them in stride, sure she looked as smug as she felt and not caring one whit about it. Not even when Pawter called Big Joe over to question him about the people they were closing in on. All the while giving no heed to her earlier admonishments that talking had allowed someone to get the drop on them.

But by Pawter’s side was nonetheless where she stayed as they approached the farm.

It was also where she was when they opened negotiations with the family who lived there. Where she was when the looks on their faces made her nervous and prompted her to take half a step in front of Pawter. It was also where she was when they both swore and hit the dirt to avoid the gunfire that was suddenly turned on them.

“What, no demands to protect you? Or about the safety of your precious device?” Dutch asked, breathless from the adrenaline surge as she crouched behind a cart full of hay with Pawter.

“Kill them if you have to,” Pawter ground out. “They’ve deliberately attacked a Nine. If you don't, I’ll seriously consider having them staked in black rain for this."

“Huh. Not unexpected, I suppose,” Dutch muttered, but there was no time to stop and consider the grim look on Pawter’s face. “Stay put and stay down as low as you can get while I draw them away,” she said. Then she flung herself out from behind the cart, yelling and shooting as she ran.

But try as she might, she couldn’t run as far or as fast as she needed to.

Their side was better armed and far better trained, but even with the four of them standing back to back between Pawter and their attackers they were still outnumbered. Not to mention lacking their usual flexibility while they tried to protect a civilian whose death would likely mean all of theirs as well.

Still, eventually they managed to turn the tide. They forced the others back inside the barn, even if they had failed to reduce their numbers. It did not happen, however, before Big Joe went down.

“Joe!” Dutch cried. She fired furiously until she’d gained enough ground to run to his side while the others continued covering her.

“Hand me the cloth from that sack over there,” Pawter commanded, appearing from nowhere to drop to her knees beside them and feel around the wound with her bare hands. She barely glanced up when Dutch scrambled back with the material. “Tear it up into long strips. Quickly, now.”

Dutch complied as fast as she could and then handed the strips of fabric over. Joe let out an ugly noise as Pawter started working, but she didn’t even flinch. Dutch watched with wide eyes as Pawter pressed and tied, her face drawn and her concentration never wavering even as D’avin and Johnny continued exchanging fire with the farmers in the background.

“I’m no field medic,” Dutch said, occasionally looking away to survey the field and note with satisfaction that Johnny and D’avin had the situation well in hand again. “But I know enough to keep myself in one piece, and this is still way beyond what I can handle.”

“I was in medical school,” Pawter said absently, tying one last knot in the makeshift bandage and then feeling for Joe’s pulse as he let out one last rattling groan and fell silent.

“Was?” Dutch asked, half counting the exchanges of weapons fire as they grew less frequent but mostly scrutinising Pawter. Her heart was in her throat, but Pawter's fingers were the ones feeling for Joe's pulse and she still looked calm.

“My mother-” Pawter started, and then sat back with a sigh and a smile. “He's just passed out. I think he’s as stable as I can get him, but we’ll need to get him to a doctor sooner rather than later. At the very least he’s going to need stitches and some strong antibiotics, neither of which I have on me."

Dutch felt her shoulders unwinding in relief, but before they could both properly relax there came an increase in the volume of the shouting coming from inside the barn. Dutch started to stand, frowning, but before she could get fully to her feet there was a bright flash of light that knocked her back down hard.

“Are you alright?” she asked, groaning as she rolled over to find Pawter splayed protectively across Joe’s body. 

“I think so,” Pawter said, moving cautiously. “What on Qresh was that?”

“Johnny? D’avin?” Dutch asked urgently into her comm, but before she could try and stand again they both gave the all clear and appeared in the entrance to wave. Something shiny glinted in D’avin’s hands.

“Given the firefight seems to be over...,” Dutch mused aloud. Then she tapped her comm again and asked Lucy if she could locate a closer landing spot to the homestead. Dutch saw D’avin give her a curious look from the doorway and arched a questioning brow at him in return, but when he nodded the all clear she just waved him off again. “You were saying something about your mother?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes,” Pawter said, looking up from her repeated visual re-examination of Joe. She pushed her hair back off her face, leaving a smear of dirt across her forehead, and then smiled. There was something tired but content in the tension around her eyes, but it was quickly fading away again. “My mother was a scientist. There was a lab accident when I was part of the way through my studies. I dropped out of school to do my duty for the family, but I’d already learned a few useful tricks. We really do need to get him to a properly qualified doctor as soon as we’ve secured that weapon, though.”

“I, uh, think I might be able to help there,” D’avin said, jogging over. But before he could get close Johnny caught up and wrested the object from his grip.

“Give me that.”

“Johnny? What is it?” Dutch asked.

“It just vaporised almost everyone in there. There was only us left and one guy who was already out cold, everyone else is just…. Just…," he said, then trailed off with his brow furrowed. He gave Dutch a shrug and his best 'this is more fucked up than usual' look, which alarmed her.

Thankfully, D’avin finished his sentence before Dutch could freak out completely. “Ash and dust. They all turned into little piles of ash and dust,” he said, a haunted look in his eyes.

Pawter was on her feet before Dutch could even process the words. “Does it have a case? Did you see a container for it?” she asked, giving orders like a drill sergeant until they all shook themselves off. “This is it,” she said once Johnny had retrieved the case and they had it safely locked it away. “This is what I hired you for. You can consider the warrant fulfilled, and your friend will most definitely be a free man. You have my word as a one of the Nine.”

“What is that, some kind of DNA bomb?” Johnny asked, still looking wary and slightly shell shocked. “What the hell are you planning to do with something like that?”

“Nothing,” Pawter said, smoothing her hands lovingly along the sides of the closed case.

“You seriously expect us to believe that you went through all of this for something you have no use for?” Dutch asked, stepping close to Pawter and narrowing her eyes.

Pawter just returned her stare calmly. “Yes,” she said, hands still stroking the curving lines of metal. It seemed to draw her eyes back down to it, almost like a meditation. “Because I went through all of this to stop anyone else from using it.”

Dutch watched her contemplate the device for another long moment, and then shrugged and half turned away back to Johnny and D'avin. "We can work out who's doing what with it later, for now I think we just need to get it and Big Joe back to Lucy and then get gone as quickly as we can."

They both pitched in as she got Big Joe ready to move, and then went to inspect the barn for herself. She caught herself throwing contemplative looks at Pawter more than once as she worked, but Pawter didn't move from her hushed crouch over the weapon and Dutch couldn't afford to take a second to think it through properly just yet.

*

“Well, that was certainly interesting,” said Dutch once Lucy was parked back on Westerley and they'd hashed out ownership of the weapon twice over and more or less to everybody's satisfaction. “Are you sure you don’t want us to drop you off somewhere a little more convenient?”

One corner of Pawter’s mouth quirked up, and she shook her head. “Let me guess, without the weapon? No, thanks. I have my own ride home organised.”

“Suit yourself,” Dutch said. Pawter just made an agreeable noise, and started gathering her few things. A smile played across Dutch’s lips as she watched.

"Are you sure you don't still want to hold me hostage until those records mysteriously disappear?" Pawter asked. She looked up at Dutch through her eyelashes and bit her lip as she packed and re-packed her things more securely around the weapon case.

“I’m gonna go check on Joe’s vitals again,” Johnny said suddenly. He exchanged a look with D’avin and then high-tailed it out of the room.

“Yup,” D’avin said as he nodded awkwardly and walked backward toward the door, jerking his thumb at Johnny's fleeing back. “I’m gonna go help.”

Pawter chuckled. “I didn’t realise they were both so savvy about medicine. I would have asked one of them to play nurse with me.”

Dutch just shook her head, still smiling. “I don’t know what to make of you.”

“Why make anything at all?”

“No,” Dutch said as she pushed off from the table she’d been leaning against and sauntered over. “Really. You manipulate me into helping you. Then you threaten to stake some Leithian farmers in black rain, although I'm no longer sure whether you even meant that. Then, oh, and _then_ you tell me all of this has been to stop _other people_ from using that thing. I'm almost tempted to question whether you're really a Nine. Almost.”

“Sounds about right,” Pawter said. She finally closed her bag with a flourish and stepped backward to lean her hip against the nearest wall, cocking her head and her body in Dutch’s direction. “I thought we already settled this. Don’t you believe me?”

“The others might have signed off on you taking that thing, but I'm feeling like maybe I might be a touch more difficult,” Dutch said as she mirrored Pawter's movements to join her against the wall. "I make a point of not believing anything I hear from the lips of the Nine," she finished in a stage whisper, leaning in close and winking.

“Pity,” Pawter said. "We have such lovely lips, too." Her eyes flicked down to Dutch’s mouth and then back up when Dutch smirked. 

“Perhaps you could make a more convincing case for why I should leave that thing in your hands?”

Pawter’s expression didn’t change, she just continued to look serenely at Dutch from so close that Dutch could watch the tiny crinkles around her eyes shift minutely as she spoke. “It’s Company property, and I represent the Company?”

“Not good enough,” Dutch breathed. "Try harder. Make me _want_ to be convinced."

"Perhaps you could do spot checks on it from time to time," Pawter murmured. "Drop in unannounced. Check I'm not up to no good."

Dutch grinned and raised her eyebrows, but didn't respond.

“There are forces at work here that you don’t see,” Pawter said, tone becoming more serious. “I’m a Nine, but I’m still being shut out of something by the other families. By Delle Seyah of all people, something that surely counts in my favour? But it doesn't matter what they do. Whatever they are up to, whatever _she_ is up to, I plan on figuring out what it is."

Dutch pulled her lower lip between her teeth and worried at it thoughtfully. “Okay. But I want to know about it when you do.”

“So you do trust me, then?”

Dutch didn’t answer again, just met Pawter’s gaze head on until she ducked her head and smiled self-deprecatingly. The tension between them broke, almost as if it had never been there.

Almost.

“Make sure you keep Joseph out of sight for a few days to avoid any additional warrants being issued before I’m done with his records,” she said as she looped her bag strap over her shoulder and turned to leave. 

Dutch released her lower lip and gave Pawter's departing back an assessing glance. “Alright,” she said eventually. “I suppose I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Just don’t go breaking onto my ship without permission again!

Pawter laughed. “Is that a challenge?” she asked over her shoulder, still laughing. Then she ducked through the hatch and was gone. 

For now.


End file.
